As a professional instructor guiding aspiring trainers and instructors in enhancing their skills, it is essential to secure adequate insurance for your unique business. The expertise you share not only elevates skills but also comes with significant professional liability exposure.

Whether you’re conducting seminars, demonstrations, or long-term courses with certification, you face two critical liability risks: General Liability and Professional Liability. Protecting yourself with both types of coverage is vital to ensuring you are adequately safeguarded against potential claims. Learn more about Ark International Group’s riding instructor insurance and horse trainer insurance.

The Importance of Dual Coverage

Many insurance providers may not offer a comprehensive Professional Liability Coverage or might provide it without General Liability. We firmly believe both coverages should be offered under a single liability policy for optimal protection. Our agency can provide both General Liability and Professional Liability Insurance together to ensure your peace of mind.

• General Liability Insurance protects you from financial loss due to injuries or property damage related to your horse activities.
• Professional Liability Insurance complements general liability by covering damages due to “professional incidents,” which often involve judgment errors inherent in your profession.

These two are crucial for riding instructor insurance. By bundling them together, we offer excellent coverage for your needs.

Understanding General Liability Insurance

General Liability Insurance for commercial equine operations protects you from financial loss should a client become injured or their property is damaged during your horse activities. If a client attempts to hold you financially responsible for negligence, this coverage is crucial.

Equine Professional Liability typically covers those sums the insured professional is legally obligated to pay for “bodily injury,” “property damage,” “personal injury,” and loss of value of a horse caused by a “professional incident.” A “professional incident” often involves improper professional judgment while providing services with a higher expectation of outcome.

Addressing Your Concerns as a Professional Instructor

As a professional riding instructor to instructors and trainers, you worry that you may be sued or otherwise have a claim made against you. If sued, you will need to hire a lawyer to defend you, and you wonder how you would go about doing this.

If found negligent or responsible, you would likely have to pay for either a court-ordered or agreed-upon settlement to the injured party. Fortunately, much concern can be relieved when you buy a Commercial General Liability Policy with Professional Liability Coverage to insure your instruction activities. Count on Ark International Group for horse trainer insurance.

How Risky Are Horse Rescue Operations? Moderately High

Horse rescue operations, including training and instruction, fall into a moderately high-risk category due to the instructor’s expert status and the professional judgments involved. While horse activities are reasonably safe compared to many other activities, inherent risks remain.

Accidents can occur when individuals, at varying skill levels, interact with large, unpredictable animals. Serious incidents may happen despite the best management practices, resulting in claims against you. Protect yourself with horse trainer insurance.

Plan Ahead with Our Five-Pronged Strategy

We encourage you to learn how to prepare for risks in your business with our comprehensive Five-Pronged Strategy.

Related Coverages to Consider

Insuring Your Business Assets

If you are renting the boarding stable property for your business, we can also insure your tack, equipment, and machinery against loss or damage. As a stable property renter, you may lack access to property insurance for these assets. Ark Agency can include a Property Coverage Endorsement to your General Liability Policy, covering the items and their declared values. Additional premiums will apply for this endorsement.

General Liability Coverage & Limits

Our General Liability Policy offers specific maximum limits of liability insurance for various aspects, including:

• Medical Expense: Covers low-cost medical expenses without questioning liability.
• Legal Defense Costs: Protects against the high costs of hiring a lawyer, which can exceed $50,000, ensuring legal defense whether the case is deemed valid or not.
• Settlement or Claim Costs: Covers damages for bodily injury and property damages for which you are held liable.

Common Claims in Horse Instruction

1. A student rider or handler may become injured during or in relation to instruction. The greatest potential hazard lies in the fact that the student needs to progress in their learning; however, to do so, they must take moderate chances and perform in ways they have not done before. Trainers can experience similar issues when trying to teach someone how to handle or ride a horse they are training. 

Students may simply lose their balance and fall or bail off the horse. They often fail to apply proper cues to control or guide the horse—some may be too harsh and inadvertently hurt the horse, which can lead to unsafe reactions from the animal. While on the ground, a student can be bitten, kicked, bumped, dragged, fallen on, or stepped on. Incidents often occur during a gait transition, when jumping, or while maneuvering over obstacles. 

A horse can “spook” and react at any time due to any distraction, depending on the animal’s mood and the stimulating factors that may arise. It can take time for a student to gain balance, a secure seat, good horse-handling instincts, and confidence. To protect themselves when frightened or in pain, a horse may run forward, stop suddenly, jump sideways, kick out, rear up, buck, or crow hop. 

Common human injuries can include soft tissue injuries, broken arms, injured tailbones or backs, bruised or broken ribs, shoulder injuries, and sometimes head injuries. This is why obtaining riding instructor insurance is crucial for safeguarding against potential liabilities.

2. Horses in training may become injured or even die while in the trainer’s care, custody, or control. Horses can sustain injuries during the training process when challenged to learn something new or when being handled and integrated into unfamiliar environments. 

Borrowed school horses can be injured while the instructor is preparing for or teaching a lesson. A student’s horse may become injured when the instructor rides it for behavior and gait assessment or correction purposes. This highlights the importance of securing horse trainer insurance to protect against the responsibilities associated with horse care and training.

3. A horse may escape from the trainer or instructor at a show, run into the road, and be hit by a car. In many cases, the horse must be euthanized, while property damage to the car and bodily injuries to passengers can result in substantial multiple claims arising from a single incident. Having comprehensive riding instructor insurance and horse trainer insurance can provide the necessary coverage to mitigate these risks and protect your business from potential financial losses.

Getting Started with Your Insurance Needs

Your insurance requirements are as unique as your business, and we believe in providing personalized service. Reach out to an Ark Agency Representative via phone or email to get an estimated premium, learn about policy options, and understand qualification requirements. We work with several insurance companies to help you find the best rates and coverage conditions tailored to your specific needs. 

Please note that the information provided here is for general understanding and does not guarantee coverage for specific losses or claims.